The Alliance Party is the main cross-community party of Northern Ireland.

Led by David Ford, it has not had an MP elected since its formation in 1970.

A sister party of the Liberal Democrats in Britain, its principle aim is to urge Northern Ireland to rethink its entire mould of politics by leaving behind sectarian ties and community divisions in favour of seeing everyone as members of a single society.

The party is running candidates in all 18 of Northern Ireland's constituencies.

EAST ANTRIM

Gerry Lynch has been Executive Director of the Alliance Party since 2007. He has been an Alliance member since 1992 and first worked for the party as a gap-year student during the talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement. A graduate of Queen's University Belfast, he spent seven years from 2000-7 as a senior policy-making official in Whitehall. This is his first general election.

EAST BELFAST

Naomi Long is a former consultant engineer and has been a Stormont Assembly member since 2003. She is a Belfast City councillor and the current Lord Mayor. She was elected deputy leader of the Alliance Party in 2007. In the last general election, she came third in East Belfast with 12.2% of the vote.

EAST LONDONDERRY

Barney Fitzpatrick is a retired police chief superintendent. He was awarded the Queens Police Medal for professional Police services to the public, and holds a Royal Humane Award for Bravery. Mr Fitzpatrick was elected to Coleraine Borough Council in the 2006 by-election. He was the Alliance candidate for East Londonderry in the last Stormont Assembly election.

FERMANAGH AND SOUTH TYRONE

Vasundhara Kamble was a teacher for 17 years in India before she and her husband came to Belfast in 1995. She is a member of the Patchwork and Embroidery Guild of Northern Ireland. Mrs Kamble also does voluntary work, mainly with Women's Aid. It is her first time standing for election in Westminster.

FOYLE

Keith McGrellis was educated at St Columb's College and Queen's University Belfast. He is the Infrastructure Support Manager of a software consultancy company based in Belfast. This is his first general election.

LAGAN VALLEY

Trevor Lunn is Alliance MLA for Lagan Valley and sits on the assembly's Education and Public Accounts Committees. He used to work in the insurance industry and ran his own insurance business from 1982-2006. He lives in the constituency and has been a member of Lisburn City Council since 2001. He was formerly Mayor of Lisburn. This is his first time standing for election to Westminster.

MID-ULSTER

Ian Butler worked in social care for more than 20 years, mostly supporting young offenders and the homeless in London, Leicester and Birmingham. Mr Butler has a background in the Labour Party. He lives in Fermanagh. This is his first general election.

NEWRY AND ARMAGH

Andrew Muir serves as chairman of the Alliance Party's North Down Association. He is also an independent member of North Down District Policing Partnership and Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrat's Northern Ireland Branch. Mr Muir is active within the voluntary sector and involved with a variety of organisations including Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International. This is his first general election.

NORTH ANTRIM

Jayne Dunlop is a former Ballymena councillor who works in the University of Ulster library. She is a former chairperson of Ballymena Citizens' Advice Bureau and has served as an independent member of the town's District Policing Partnership. At the last general election, she came fifth in North Antrim with 3% of the vote.

NORTH BELFAST

Billy Webb is a former civil servant and has been a Newtownabbey councillor since 1997. He serves on the boards of several voluntary organisations including Ulster Garden Villages, and is a trustee of the NI Hospice. This is his first general election.

NORTH DOWN

Stephen Farry has been a Stormont assembly member since 2007 and is the party's justice spokesman. He is also a North Down councillor. He has a PhD in International Relations, and between 1997-2000 worked a consultant trainer for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Croatia and Bosnia. He stood in the 1997 general election in Fermanagh/South Tyrone where he came fourth.

SOUTH ANTRIM

Alan Lawther is deputy mayor of Antrim Borough Council. Mr Lawther is the party's spokesman for sustainability and a campaigner for increased use of renewable energy sources. He has worked as a chemistry teacher and now runs his own business. This is his first general election.

SOUTH BELFAST

Anna Lo became the first person from an ethnic minority background to take a seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007. Ms Lo was born in Hong Kong and has lived in Northern Ireland since 1974. She is chief executive of the Chinese Welfare Association. This is her first general election.

SOUTH DOWN

David Griffin is a Tipperary-born retired teacher who was vice-principal of Banbridge Academy, where he taught history and politics. A sports enthusiast, Mr Griffin has played and coached rugby, tennis and squash. This is his first general election.

STRANGFORD

Deborah Girvan is a former PE teacher, who worked from 2000-2008 at the Northern Ireland Council of Integrated Education. Since retiring from this job, she has worked part time as a marketing director for a fuel company. She joined the Alliance Party in 2005. This is her first election.

UPPER BANN

Brendan Heading has been a member of the Alliance Party from the age of 15. Mr Heading works as a software engineer, and his job has taken him around the world. He is originally from north Belfast. This is his first time standing for election at Westminster.

WEST BELFAST

Maire Hendron is a former Home Economics teacher. She was elected to Belfast City Council in 2005, and she serves on the Policy and Resources Committee, Town Planning and Health and Environment Committees. She chairs the Good Relations Partnership, which is responsible for allocating European funding to local communities. This is her first general election.

WEST TYRONE

Michael Bower works as an assistant to North Down candidate Stephen Farry. The 23-year-old grew up in Donegal, Augher and Omagh and is a former head boy of Omagh Academy. He is a recent psychology graduate from Queen's University Belfast, where he was active in student politics. This is his first general election.

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